The Detachment Kit CD review 'of this blood…' - FREE Bronze download link

The Detachment Kit
of this blood…
Frenchkiss Records

The new album from The Detachment Kit, which hits streets May 18, is less of a screechy guitar assault than their debut effort. It contains more funk, swagger and superfluous pretty instruments to create a fuller sound that shows a good deal of growth from this talented New York City, by way of Chicago, band.

Of This Blood .., the sophomore full-length from The Detachment Kit, doesn’t immediately strike with as much outrage and angular, noisy guitars, and smartass lyrics, as their initial effort They Raging, Quiet Army, but after a few listens, the high tension guitar rock, smarmy lyrics, and outrage are still to be found. The album is kind of a mixture of elements found in bands like And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, 764 Hero and The Afghan Whigs; but Of This Blood … is not a knock-off album by any means, it is a confident stride forward for Detachment Kit.

Although, when I first inserted the CD in my player, I thought I had been robbed, fooled, bamboozled; the first track “Night of My Death” is a minute and a half piece of sound with a trumpet blowing overtop some gentle, kind of mariachi, guitar picking, with some vocals singing “La, la, la, la” like an amateur church choir warming their vocal chords.

It turns out “Night of My Death” is only a slightly disarming – for those who were hoping for the immediate ass kicking and sweat The Detachment Kit showed on They Raging, Quiet Army - introduction track, but it does indicate the more experimental feel to the D Kit’s second effort.

Of This Blood … is decorated with pianos, xylophones, trumpets, cellos and accordions; this group of diverse instruments helps Detachment Kit members Ian Menard (guitar and vocals) and Charlie Davis (guitar) layer their sound, and create more interesting breakdowns and transitions than those found on They Raging, Quiet Army.

But luckily the intense guitars and screaming take center stage enough times to remind the listener that D Kit likes to get drunk and belt out some noisy nonsense with the best of them.

After the first track, the second song “Skyscrapers” gets into the adrenaline. The song begins with a soft xylophone, and a faint guitar crescendo leads into a powerful rifling of drum beats, with Menard screaming “It’s not who you are, it’s better than that.” The energy stays high with the next track “Ted the Electric” about an electrician with “catastrophic energies and electrifying synergies” and super powers.

The CD slows a bit with the next two songs “Ricochet” and “Chronology,” both songs have wonderful, smiling, clean guitar riffs, a little piano, and smooth jazzy basslines. The songs tone down the aggression, and exude a warm feeling, kind of a 50s pop song feeling. It’s a little odd, but Detachment Kit seems to capture the same smooth jazz and rock mixture/feeling that someone like Otis Redding would use on his soulful/rock ballads.

The beat picks up a bit after “Chronology,” when “Pill Cake” kicks in, with a funky bassline, and a cocky sounding Menard sing “Randy takes his clothes off, he’s such a robot/ Molly’s coming over, she’s such a showoff.” Then, Detachment Kit grabs ahold of your adrenaline vein again with “Vanish or Vanquish,” beginning with some quick drum bursts, and creepy guitars that lead into Menard screaming “Why cry? You’ve been buried before.”

Overall, the 14 tracks on Of This Blood … rotate nicely between loud and rambunctious, and soft, indiesoul tunes. The album also sounds nice and crisp – it was recorded in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, the same place D Kit did They Raging, Quiet Army.

Detachment Kit recorded Of This Blood … as a duo - Menard sang, played guitar, and drums; and Davis played guitar and bass – after kicking out their bass player and drummer; but new members Michael Hamilton (drums) and Bryan Mayer (bass) are touring with the group as they make their way across the U.S. supporting Of This Blood…

The most annoying thing about Of This Blood … is the album artwork, it’s a mess of different colors and lyrics scribbled around without any real order. Although, Detachment does generously include a game, kind of a Candyland type adventure map, on the lyric sheet.

Despite the annoying layout, the lyrics on this album are pretty intelligent and creative, which is good, and Of This Blood … is a nice mixture of aggression and smoothness. The album should be a welcome sight for established D Kit fans, and will likely earn them a few more fans.

The Detachment Kit is broken up now but Charlie and Ian have a new project called BRONZE. Check out their Bandcamp site here and download their ep for free.